The present invention relates to a heat-shrinkable laminate film excellent in oil-resistance and peel-resistance and tear-resistance of the part sealed or the neighborhood thereof by heat shrinkage (hereinafter referred to as heat-sealing resistance), and more particularly relates to a heat-shrinkable laminated film excellent in gas-barrier property and oil-resistance and heat-sealing resistance, comprising
a core layer of a gas-barrier resin which is a copolymer of vinylidene chloride or a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl alcohol, the outer layer (A) of a resin whih is a copolymer (I) of ethylene and alpha-olefin having specific gravity of 0.900 to 0.950 and of a crystal melting point of 110.degree. to 130.degree. C. or a mixture of more than 20% by weight of the copolymer (I) and less than 80% by weight of a copolymer (II) of ethylene and vinyl acetate having crystal melting point of 80.degree. to 103.degree. C., the other outer layers (B) of a resin which is a cross-linked material formed from a polymer selected from the group consisting of the copolymer (I), the copolymer (II) and mixture of the copolymer (I) and the copolymer (II) by exposing the polymer to an ionizing irradiation, and two adhesive layers disposed between the core layer and the outer layers (A) and (B).
For packaging foodstuffs with uneven and irregular shapes and forms such as fatty foodstuff, for instance, raw meats, processed meats and cheeses, the use of a heat-shrinkable packaging material is most simple and convenient. Since the thus packaged foodstuff is apt to be preserved for a long term, not only the gas-barrier property but also oil-resistance and heat-sealing resistance are required to the heat-shrinkable packaging material. Because in the cases of packaging and then sterilizing the fatty foodstuff, the occurrence of breaking the softened film of the material due to the fat and the heat by thinly stretching and of breaking the film of the material at the sealed part or the neighbouring part by the heat-shrinking stress generating during sterilization has hitherto been frequently observed.
Accordingly, a heat-shrinkable film provided with not only gas-barrier property but also oil-resistance and heat-sealing resistance has been keenly demanded from the field of food packaging industry.
Hitherto, as a heat-shrinkable film provided with gas-barrier property, a single film of a copolymer of vinylidene chloride (hereinafter referred to as co-PVD), a laminate film composed of a layer of a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate (hereinafter referred to as EVA), a layer of the copolymer of vinylidene chloride and another layer of the copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate disclosed in Canadian Pat. No. 982,923 (hereinafter referred to as EVA/co-PVD/EVA); a laminate film consisting of a layer of EVA, a layer of co-PVD and a layer obtained by exposing a layer of EVA to an ionizing irradiation, and a laminate film consisting of a layer of EVA, a layer of a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl alcohol and a layer obtained by exposing a layer of EVA to an ionizing irradiation have been publicly known, the last two having been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laying Open No. 47-34565 (1972).
The single film layer of co-PVD has demerits of causing the sanitarily undesirable cases due to the migration of a plasticizer or a stabilizer therein into the foodstuff packaged within the film thereof depending on the kinds of the packaged foodstuffs and of becoming to an undersirable state for preserving a foodstuff due to the reduction of gas-barrier property owing to the relatively large amount of the additives contained in the film for retaining the strength at a low atmospheric temperature.
The laminate film having a composition of EVA/co-PVD/EVA is superior to the single layer film of co-PVD in the point of the smaller reduction of the gas-barrier property because of its smaller content of the additives owing to the higher strength of the outer layers of EVA at a low temperature, however, EVA is low in oil-resistance.
Although Japanese Patent Application Laying-Open No. 47-34565 (1972) discloses an effective method for improving the stretchability and oil-resistance of the laminate film of using the cross-linked EVA layer obtained by exposing a layer of EVA to an ionizing irradiation as one of the two outer layers, however, the other of the outer layers has not been treated with the ionizing irradiation because of the fear of decomposition of co-PVD or the copolymer of ethylene and vinyl alcohol of the core layer when the laminated layers are exposed to the ionizing irradiation.
In these situations, a heat-shrinkable film excellent in oil-resistance and gas-barrier property has been keenly demanded in the field of packaging foodstuffs.
For obtaining a packaging film excellent in oil-resistance, it is preferable to use as the two outer layers a polymer excellent in oil-resistance, for instance, a poly-alpha-olefin having a crystal melting point of higher than 110.degree. C., however, the poly-alpha-olefin having a crystal melting point of higher than 110.degree. C. is poor in stretchability and accordingly, the laminate film formed by merely laminating a conventional layer of poly-alpha-olefin with a layer of co-PVD or a layer of a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl alcohol cannot be easily stretched uniformly, and it is difficult to obtain a heat-shrinkable film by such a method.
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a heat-shrinkable film excellent in oil-resistance and heat-sealing resistance and possibly stretchable uniformly.